Looking ahead to 2026, Michael van der Straaten, CEO of Antares Global, a London-based specialty re/insurer, outlined that the company is projecting that alternative capital, captives, and new structures will continue to play a key role towards shaping the specialty re/insurance market throughout next year.The CEO noted that this marks a critical time for those who hope to see continued growth in London’s specialty market.van der Straaten also explained that efforts to simplify regulations and streamline processes, including upcoming FCA rule changes for commercial lines and updates such as the Consumer Duty, should encourage innovation and operational efficiency, while areas like product governance still require further clarification.At the same time, van der Straaten outlined how changes in reinsurance conditions, the growth of managing general agents (MGAs), and economic uncertainty will affect risk selection and market discipline.

As per the CEO, the reinsurance market is expected to remain competitive in 2026, with abundant capacity and the potential for softer pricing.“This will mean that insurers will benefit from improved reinsurance terms but will need to stay disciplined on risk selection.Reinsurance pricing softening may squeeze margins which is good for buyers in the short term, but reinsurers may take on more risk for less reward,” he said.

“Of course, catastrophe, climate, and emerging risks also remain unpredictable.This is critical to the continuation of the soft market and any severe events could quickly reverse the soft market sentiment.” Meanwhile, van der Straaten stressed that rapid MGA growth could test underwriting discipline.“While MGAs bring huge benefits to our market, the higher volumes and new capital entering the sector could lead to inconsistent risk quality if oversight isn’t strong.

This is an area for us all to watch carefully in 2026.Underwriting discipline is a critical success factor in keeping a low COR for us all,” he noted.Additionally, economic conditions also remain another key concern for van der Straaten going forward.

The executive outlined that inflation, interest rates, geopolitics, as well as changing loss trends will continue to influence claims experience and capital availability in 2026.Looking past underwriting, van der Straaten anticipates that MGAs will keep growing as a favoured avenue for niche and specialty business.“Their growth is only going to continue, in spite of the fact that the FCA last week knocked back requests by the market to remove duplication of oversight by their insurer capacity.

This won’t stop growth, all it will do is drive MGAs further into the arms of the incubators who can help them with regulatory and operational issues,” the CEO explained.To conclude, van der Straaten foresees 2026 as being a positive year of opportunity, with a market environment that encourages growth while rewarding disciplined underwriting, data-driven decision-making, and operational efficiency..All of our Artemis Live insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds and reinsurance can be accessed online.

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